In defending taking a family holiday in December after sick leave, Ms Bates said she was the "captain of the ship and the ship still sails".

The chairman of the Queensland branch of the Australian Information Industries Association (AIIA). Simon Kaplan. said the industry's chief concern was ensuring the release of the ICT audit findings was not further delayed.

Ms Bates was due to speak about the audit and the government's plans at the AIIA's monthly lunch on Friday, February 22, but it is not known whether a replacement will step into the breach.

An industry source who asked to remain anonymous said: "The Minister came back with great intentions to sort everything out at the start of January and I get the impression that 'time' had moved on while she was away and she wasn't able to form nor articulate a clear direction of what needed to happen next."

A date has not been set for the release of the ICT audit report.

Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek will act in Ms Bates' role until a replacement is found.

11 comments

Good....she wasn't much good anyway.....hopefully, a few more will follow....but it is Queensland....dumb politics place

Commenter

ChrisY

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 4:15PM

If the Government keeps shedding members as it has done to date it will end up a one man band again as it was under Joh the peanut.

Commenter

fred

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 5:44PM

Hopefully this will now end the compulsory IT outsourcing nonsense.

Commenter

Mike

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 4:18PM

Doubtful Mike; even when experts indicate that there are no overall savings by outsourcing ICT, this government is hell bent on reducing the number of public servants.

Now waiting for the ICT audit to be made public (unless I missed it?)

Commenter

Quasimofoso

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 6:09PM

No, it's LNP dogma that their key supporters should be allowed to make money out of the public purse. Outsourcing is meant to save money, but the waste is not in the delivery of IT services, it is in the procurement strategy.Too often government buys rubbish and pays too much for it. Outsourcing will just be another service that will be rubbish and the government will pay too much for it.

Commenter

Peter of Brisbane

Date and time

February 16, 2013, 6:11AM

The3 reason for out sourcing is not that it is better but it provides many of the LNP supporters with a trough to put their snouts in! Out sourcing in government departments of IT has been a disaster both in state and federal governments in this country. Think IBM and the health payrol debacle.

Commenter

Pollyho

Date and time

February 16, 2013, 11:13AM

The concept of having an IT minister or department in Queensland is preposterous. Queensland has been denied any up to date technological advances from the year dot until now. The entire state is in a time warp.

Commenter

Asianplumb.

Location

Melbourne.

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 6:32PM

Where are the headlines about a government in turmoil! 3 ministers and some senior seat warmers in 1 year .. !!!

Commenter

Lucy

Date and time

February 15, 2013, 6:38PM

IT is such a critical area of government administration that to leave multi-billion dollar decisions in the hands of somebody so inexpert, so unable to manage decisions and vulnerable to lobbying was opening up Campbell to even bigger calamities in the future.

She had to go!

Commenter

Ken of Brisbane

Date and time

February 16, 2013, 1:57AM

She was never on top of her portfolio in IT anyway. Her statement that all the IT stuff had to be replaced in 5 years says it all! Most IT stuff has to be replaced in 5 years anyway.

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